The real boy who lived
by Hanhan2000
Summary: The end is near. Only one could live. The problem is, there is a huge mistake- Harry is not the boy who lived, but who is?
1. Chapter 1 Not the Boy Who Lived

Chapter 1 not the boy who lived  
The end is near. Only one could live, the other would die.  
The connection between the two wands was mostly red. "I'm going to live." Harry muttered under his breathe. Suddenly, the red beam turned, the green was pushing it at full force towards him.  
Voldermort gave a shrill laugh.  
The connection had broken, Voldermort had won. As Harry fell to the floor he whispered his final words, "It's Neville!"  
Voldermort got to his feet after being pushed to the ground by the force. He smiled at the sight of Harry before taking to the skies.


	2. Chapter 2 Just Another Death

Chapter 2 Just another death

"No!" Everyone cried as they sprinted into the courtyard: no one could believe the site that lay in front of them. Harry- the boy who defeated Lord Voldermort as a baby, the boy that Dumbledore himself had trained ready for this moment- dead.

Hermione was sobbing into Ron's top, Ron resteded his head in Hemione's bushy hair, Ginny was hugging Harry's lifeless body, desperately hoping he would start hugging her back. Mr and Mrs Weasley were trying to pull her off him but she wouldn't budge.

Neville walked out from the great hall last, he saw Harry then walked over to where Ron and Hermione stood and joined in with all the sobbing.

"How has this happened?" He asked himself, "Harry's the boy who lived, isn't he?"

Their loss was significant, but at the end of the day, it's just another death.


	3. Chapter 3 where To Start

Chapter 3 Where To Start?

It had been 3 days since the great turn of events; everyone was still shell-shocked at the loss of Harry Potter. Lord Voldermort was now in charge and they had no one that could stand a chance against him; Harry was the boy who lived, the one the prophecy had spoken of all those years ago, the boy Albus Dumbledore himself had trained, the person who everyone had put their trust into, but now he's gone and, everyone who fought with him is certain to have a difficult future awaiting them.  
It had been 3 days since the tragic, unforeseen day, Professor McGonagall, Hermione, Ron and Arthur Weasley were in Dumbledore's office, talking around the desk.  
Hermione looked as if she had been possessed due to the dark bags under her red, bloodshot eyes, and her hair was even bushier than normal- it looked as if it hadn't been brushed in days.  
Ron didn't look quite so bad but his eyes looked extremely swollen and watery.  
Mr Weasley looked about the same as usual however, like his son, he looked as if he had been crying.  
Professor McGonagall didn't look any different to normal, other than the bags that hung below her eyes. She sat in the grand chair behind the headmasters desk.  
"Well, I-I don't know what to say." She muttered, avoiding any eye contact. "Um... I don't think that... um... any of us expected we would be here."  
At these words Hermione let out a cry and started sobbing loudly into her hands.  
"Miss Granger, please stop your crying. I know we lost Harry, and I know how saddened we all our at the loss of such a wonderful boy but, crying will get us nowhere now, will it?" She said sharply, sounding a lot more like her old, strict self.  
Seeing that this upset Hermione even more, she apologised for the way she had spoken to her.  
"Look, I shouldn't have been so forward like that, but the fact still remains that if we sit here and pour all our emotions out we won't get anywhere will we, eh?"  
"Get where Minerva? You-Know-Who has won, what can be done to change that? We haven't got a 'boy-who-lived' now have we? There's no one to kill him off, it's useless to convince yourself otherwise!" Mr Weasley butted in.  
"Well if you think like that Arthur then there's no way we will ever get rid of him." She snapped back. "Right now, would you like to find out why I have summoned you all here?"  
The three of them nodded in a very unenthusiastic manner.  
"Okay, well as you all know, a prophecy was made about 17 years ago, talking of a boy who could defeat the dark lord. Now it said his birthday is when July draws to a close." At these words McGonagall got up and started pacing back and forth behind the headmaster's chair.  
"Straight away Lilly and James knew they were in danger, that's why they went into hiding. However, before he went after Lilly, James and Harry, he sent Bellatrix after, the Longbottoms!"  
As soon as she said this, her eyes lit up.  
"So, this whole time, it's been, it's been Neville?" Ron whispered in horror. "How the hell have we never known, this whole time! We've all been fighting against him with the wrong leader!" He started too raise his voice.  
Hermione sat with a look of shock and guilt on her pale face.  
"I- I knew." She whispered, barely audible.  
"Y-you what?" Ron stuttered.  
"Well, I guessed, towards the end. I didn't say anything as I thought everyone would call me mental and tell me I'm being ridiculous. I wasn't sure anyway, I just had a strange feeling that it was! Its all my fault Harry's dead- if I'd have said something when I had the chance, Neville could have killed him there and then!" This was the most Hermione had said since Harry's death. When she finished she burst into tears and sobbed into the sleeve of her hoodie.  
"Please don't cry Miss Granger, it's not your fault at all, no one could have foreseen Harry's fate, not even Professor Dumbledore for crying out loud!" Professor McGonagall yelled.  
"I know but if I'd just said something- it could have made all the difference!" Hermione sobbed.  
It was true, if Hermione had said something, Harry could still be alive and Voldermort dead. No one was going to tell her that though, they all just kept quiet, thinking of a way to change the subject.  
"Right," Professor McGonagall said, thankful she had thought of a way to change it, "What to do now then? We aught to tell Neville, I wonder how he'll react?"


	4. Chapter 4 No I'm Not!

Chapter 4 "No I'm not!"  
"Who wants to break the news to him then?" Mr Weasley asked, hoping it wouldn't have to be him. There was a long pause: they were all waiting for a volunteer.  
"Oh for Gods sake! I'll do it if Hermione comes with me." Ron burst out, breaking the silence. "That's only if no one else will?" He was hoping for another to step forward, but they all shrunk into their seats, avoiding any eye contact with him.  
"Fine. C'mon Hermione." He had grabbed her by the wrist and marched her out of the door before she could protest. Ron dragged her down a small corridor and down a flight of stairs. He was wondering where Neville might be.  
'It must be about 6 o'clock. That's about the time everyone goes for dinner.' Ron thought to himself.  
"Let's try the great hall." Hermione suggested, as if reading his mind.  
Sure enough, there he was, sat with George Weasley and Dean Thomas, eating his food in silence.  
Hermione and Ron saw him straight away and started walking towards him.  
They stood behind him for a second, unsure of what to say. They couldn't very well just come out with it and say 'Hey Neville, your the real boy who lived so go kill You-Know-Who' so what could they tell him.  
Ron gave Hermione a little nudge and nodded towards Neville. Hermione nodded back, knowing what Ron meant.  
"Um... Hi Neville." She stuttered. Neville turned around and said hello. "Hey uh... Can we have a word please, in private?" She asked, biting her already swollen bottom lip.  
"Sure." He replied quietly. Getting out of his seat, he followed Ron and Hermione as they led him to Flitwick's empty charms classroom. They told him to take a seat, so he sat on one of the desks in front of the pair.  
"Um... There's no easy way of saying this to you mate but, well um..." He trailed off and looked over at Hermione, hoping she could pick up the sentence. Luckily, she thought Ron would cop out, so she'd roughly planned what she was going to say.  
"When Harry died, it was clear there had been a mix-up, Harry was not the boy who lived all along. Now, Professor McGonagall, Ron, Mr Weasley and I have just had a little meeting together and we have been thinking what could have gone wrong and not according to plan." Hermione paused and took a long breath. "We then thought back to the prophecy, you remember the prophecy, right?"  
Neville gave a small nod.  
"Well, it talks about a boy whose birthday is at the end of July. We thought about who else it could be, and the only person we could think of was you, Neville." Tears started trickling down her thin face.  
Neville's mouth was wide open. "Wait, are you saying, I'm the real boy who lived?"  
Hermione nodded slowly.  
"No I'm not! I can't be!" He shouted and started to cry. "How could we have been mixed up?"  
Ron and Hermione both gave a shrug.  
"Not a clue, mate. It's beyond me!" Ron answered.  
"Well, um... what d'you want me to do then?" Neville asked, looking as if he knew the answer already hoped it wasn't the right one.  
"It's a bit obvious isn't it? However, I think Professor McGonagall will want to talk to you about it all, shall we go on up to Dumbledore's office?" Hermione said, trying to hold back her tears.  
"Um... you guys go ahead, ill catch up in a minute. I just need a moment please." He answered and with that, Ron and Hermione both gave him a smile and Hermione gave him a small hug as they got up, and left the classroom,closing the door behind them.  
Neville shut his eyes as lay his head in his hands. 'How could this have happened?' He asked himself in his mind. 'Harry was the boy who lived, not me! Her survived You-Know-Who, I didn't!'  
Frustrated by how confusing the situation was, Neville burst out crying, unable to control himself.  
After a couple of minutes passed, Neville decided to follow his friends up to where McGonagall was, in Dumbledore's old office.  
Soon, Neville was knocking on the door and McGonagall summoned him inside. She was sat behind the desk, peering over her spectacles at him, while Ron and Hermione stood with Mr Weasley against the wall, muttering under their breath.  
"Mr Longbottom, please take a seat." She gestured towards one of the seats in front of her. Neville took it without hesitation but, as he did so, he kept a fixed stare on his old Professor and didn't blink once.  
"Right well, I don't think anyone expected this turn of events. I for one certainly didn't." She smiled but Neville kept his glaring face straight.  
"Obviously you know what your challenge is now, I'm going to let you have Miss Granger and Mr Weasley with you the whole time if you wish as they are experts in this sort of thing."  
The two smiled at McGonagall before carrying on their muttering conversation with Arthur Weasley.  
"So's that it now? Your just sending me of like a pig going to be slaughtered with two companions?" Neville asked.  
"I guess so, yes Mr Longbottom- what else do you suppose I do? I'm not an expert in this sort of thing so I can't sit here and tell you how to kill him! I am happy to answer any questions you have about the mix-up but, I can't guarantee a correct answer, just my theory." She replied sharply.  
Looking a little taken aback Neville asked the question he had been longing to ask since he found out.  
"Professor, how did Harry survive the first time round if he's not the real boy who lived?"


	5. Chapter 5 McGonagall's Theory

Chapter 5 McGonagall's theory  
*"Professor, how did Harry survive the first time round if he's not the real boy who lived?"*  
"I thought you might ask that." She said as if hoping she wasn't there at that moment. "The truth is, I don't know. I have a theory but, I'm unsure on whether it is correct. My theory is that You-Know-Who didn't kill Harry, he attached part of his sole to Harry so, if he died, he could come back to life through Mr Potter. He made more of these in other objects, you destroyed one yourself, the snake was a part of his sole. Throughout this year, Ron Hermione and Harry were searching for these objects, horcruxes if you want to use their correct name, and destroying them. I never found out how many they managed to destroy as I was told by Professor Dumbledore at the end of last year what they were going to be doing, Ron, Hermione could you tell us please?"  
Hermione and Ron looked a little shocked as they didn't know that McGonagall knew but they answered anyway.  
"We got them all, there's only him left now, unless Neville's got some in him like Harry did but I doubt that 'cus You-Know-Who never tried to kill him did he?" Ron answered.  
"No he didn't Ron. There you go then, you've only got him to kill Neville. I mean I know he has followers that will try and stop you but, you will have Ron and Hermione there to help you." McGonagall said.  
"That's handy, three against three million- and can I just add the three million aren't afraid to kill and quite enjoy doing so! It's bad enough I have to kill You-Know-Who but no, can't just stick to one person, got to kill thousands of people to get to him!" Neville shouted angrily.  
"You have to just think of it as self-defence mate. You're only killing them 'cus if you don't, they'll kill you. Anyway, Hermione and I don't like to kill, we mainly use stunning spells 'cus they're just as good." Ron told him, patting him on the back.  
Hermione nodded and gave him a small smile.  
Neville smiled at her before snapping back into reality.  
"Well, I think that's that then. Shall I leave you three to it?" McGonagall asked.  
"Ok Professor, we'll be able to manage." Hermione answered. Neville caught her eye and she gave him a wink and giggled. Neville returned the wink and laughed with her.  
He had never noticed how pretty she really was until now, her bushy brown hair had beautiful golden streaks running through it. Her brown eyes lit up as she spoke and her face was practically symmetrical.  
"Neville? Neville? Um... Hello Neville?"  
Neville shook his head and snapped back into reality.  
"Oh um... Hi, sorry! I don't know what happened there." He said looking slightly confused.  
"Well quit staring at my girlfriend!" Ron shouted, he had a slightly smug look on his face as he said the word 'girlfriend'.  
"Oh, right. Was I? Sorry Ron, and Hermione if I was staring at you." He said, avoiding eye contact with anyone.  
Suddenly feeling slightly self-conscious, Hermione stared awkwardly at the ground: she didn't like the thought of somebody staring at her.  
"Okay. Well anyway, should we get started?" She asked, quickly trying to change the subject.  
"Yeah let's." said Neville, thankful of Hermione's topic change.


End file.
